


Stellar

by Adillard



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Anger, Angst, F/M, Friendship, Healing, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2020-10-04 12:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20471306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adillard/pseuds/Adillard
Summary: *Another post 1×13 ficIsobel is depressed,  Michael is a drunk mess, and someone from Alex's past comes into town and encourages him to move on. Rosa is still struggling with mental health and Liz and Kyle are trying to help her heal. This starts a little over a month after 1x13.**Also, the title is from one of the best Incubus songs!





	1. 5 Weeks Later

**Author's Note:**

> *There are some difficult topics in this series- including struggles with mental health and addiction*
> 
> I hope you all enjoy. I am keeping with the "I left nice in the Middle East" version of Alex for this fic. 
> 
> More chapters to come

* * *

It had been 5 weeks. Since Max died and Rosa came back to life. Since anything had seemed remotely normal. It didn’t really feel like a month. Michael had spent it in a drunken haze that was so extreme, he wondered if the scientist in Liz wanted to research how he hadn’t died of alcohol poisoning, yet. He had been kicked out of Sander's for his lack of work and overcrowding of beer bottles littering the property. It was an “Auto repair lot, not a junk yard for Christ’s sake.”

Isobel hadn’t been happy about Michael parking his trailer on her property, but she knew him well enough to know he wasn’t about to park on Max’s and those were his only options. She did, however, appreciate that it allowed her to check in on him more easily. Honestly, they were barely on speaking terms, so this was one way she could make sure he was still alive without having to talk to him. There were days that she was barely hanging on, so she couldn't really blame Michael. But she did wish that he could man up and be her brother, instead of the town drunk for, like, one day. It really fucking sucked that he didn't even come to Max’s funeral. That's not something she should have had to do alone. And she knew that he knew he'd fucked up and she was pissed.

The worst part about it right now- for both of them- was that the world just kept on going around them. It didn't stop just because their lives had. And that meant that Rosa had still rejoined the community, even though they played it off like she was a long lost cousin or something. And Sheriff Valenti had hired a new cop and somehow Jenna Cameron weaseled herself back on the force. The new guy, Jeremy Woods, was also an Air Force Vet. He was tall, dark, handsome, and an out-of-the closet Black man who had served 2 tours in the Middle East. Isobel didn’t think she had ever seen him crack a smile, not that she left the house much these days.

Isobel mostly stayed home, binging Netflix shows and eating junk food in her sweats. She would take showers when Liz came over and forced her to. She would leave the house when Liz made her. But otherwise, this alien stayed the fuck home. Michael, however, spent most of the time at either of the 2 bars in town getting wasted and screwing women in the bathrooms or his truck. He had never once brought anyone back with him. At least twice per week, he would do something dramatic and end up in the drunk tank. And without Max, he would actually have to stay until they deemed him sober enough to leave. But he had only gotten 6 Drunk and Disorderly tickets, 1 assault charge (which was dropped when the judge learned it was a response to the “victim" saying derogatory things about the new gay Black cop in town), and 2 charges for Disturbing the Peace. They had stopped writing him public intoxication tickets on the Sherriff’s orders, something Isobel assumed was because she just felt bad for him.

Isobel knew Michael had been with Maria that night, but whatever had happened, she never came around. And neither did Alex. Leave it to her brother to be the town drunk who gets 2 people to fall in love with him and then fucks them both over. Oh well. She couldn’t really bring herself to care lately. What was the point of any of it? What was the point of living when you didn’t even know who the hell you were?

Isobel was 37 minutes deep into Land Before Time, a spoonful of chocolate chip cookie dough in her hand that she nibbled at absentmindedly, her hair up in a bun and her sweats fitting slightly snugger than they used to, when she heard a knock at her door. She knew Michael was in the drunk tank, courtesy of a text from Cameron who always let her know when Michael was there, so she knew that it was Liz even before Liz walked through the unlocked door and into the living room.

What Isobel hadn’t been expecting, though, were the tears in Liz’s eyes and the fire behind them. She was here on a mission of some kind and Isobel guessed she wouldn’t have to wait long to find out what it was.

“I need you to snap out of it, Isobel.”

There it was. Isobel didn’t change her face from void of emotion. But she was intrigued, so she did cock one eyebrow.

“It is _my_ turn to freak out, okay? You’ve been at it for weeks, Michael has lost his mind, Rosa is on the verge of either using again or killing herself, and I. Need. A. Turn. Okay?” She was full on crying at this point, and had Isabel’s full attention. “I need you to get it together so that I can fall apart.”

Isobel stood up and wrapped her arms around Liz, nodding. “Okay. Okay, it’s your turn.”

* * *

  
After a shower and a quick 10-minute pickup of her house, Isobel sat in her kitchen with Liz, both sipping coffee.

“I’m sorry,” Isobel told her, reaching out and squeezing Liz’s hand that lay on the table.

Liz shook her head. She wasn’t crying anymore and seemed like a large weight had lifted off of her. “Please don’t be. I can’t even imagine going through what you have these past few months. With Noah and Max, with finding out about Rosa…It’s just that…it’s a lot right now. And without Max, without Michael and you…I just feel like I’m running in the dark. I want to find a way to heal Max. Alex and Kyle don’t seem to think that’s outside the realm of possibility. But right now my focus is on my sister. Because she isn’t doing so well and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know…how to save her from herself.”

She was crying again. Isobel didn't really know what to do. She'd never really had girlfriends before. But she did understand what it was like to watch your sibling be the worst version if themselves. She knew what it was like to be so angry at them for being so incredibly selfish, but also know that you love them and that they need you to love them enough for the both of you.

“How did you explain it to your dad?” Isobel asked, clearing her throat and trying to stay present, even through her mind wanted so badly to check out.

“I told him the truth. Everything. But I know I can trust him, “ Liz explained, staring to feel defensive.

Great. Just a matter of time before the whole damn town knows, at this point. She sighed and took a sip from her coffee.

“Rosa isn’t my dad’s daughter, did you know that?” Liz asked, looking at Isobel curiously. When Isobel's eyes widened and she shook her head, no, Liz continued. “She was Jim Valenti's. My mom had an affair with him.”

Liz’s gaze moved to the table, staring at a water ring Isobel had never been able to get out. Isobel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I think maybe she knew that, Liz. Before she died. When I got all my memories back, I realized that she was being haunted by something. She was angry with a lie your mom had been keeping. It makes sense, now, actually.”

Liz watched Isobel for a moment. “Yeah, she had just found out. A month or so before she died. He had reached out to her and he was trying to help her get sober.”

Isobel’s eyebrows raised as she was struck with another memory. “’He’s more of a father figure,’” she whispered to herself, reciting the words Rosa had said to her in the diner that night.

“We haven’t told my dad, yet. I don’t think it will change how he feels about her, but I think it would break his heart. But Kyle knows. And he wants to get to know her more, but she just is having a hard time with it all.”

Isobel nodded. “She’s not the only one.”

Liz glanced out the kitchen window at the Airstream. “How is Michael?”

Isobel barked a laugh. “Michael spends so much time at the police station I'm starting to think he wants to be there so he can remember Max better.”

“The police station? I would think he'd want to steer clear, especially now that Jeremy works there.”

Isobel screwed up her face in confusion. “Jeremy?”

“Woods. Alex’s…boyfriend?” Liz was looking at the table again, trying to figure out how to describe Jeremy. Was he Alex’s boyfriend? Ex boyfriend? Had they actually dated before? Who the hell knows. She looked back up at Isobel, who looked shocked once again.

“Excuse me?”

Liz’s eyes grew wide when she realized she’d said too much. She closed her eyes in apology. “Shoot, I’m sorry. I forget that you don’t ever leave the house. I should have told you.”

Isobel shook her head slowly, processing. “Does everyone sleep with each other in this damn town?”

Liz smiled, apologetically.

“Does Michael know?”

Liz shrugged. “I think so. I mean he has been acting pretty awful to Maria and Alex. Who aren’t talking, by the way. And Jeremy came into town to, like, follow Alex? I think they had a thing while they were both in the Air Force. And Alex turned him down for weeks, but gave in last week and agreed to a date. They went out in town so everyone knows.”

Isobel sighed. “Damnit. I don’t need another reason to worry about my brother right now. I like being mad at him. Gives me something to not be sad about.”

“You should give him a break for this week, at least.”

“Why?”

Liz’s eyes got big again. “Isobel Christmas is in, like, 2 days.”

Isobel shut her eyes, internally reprimanding herself. That’s why her mother had been calling so often. She wondered if her mom would be stopping by today after so many unanswered calls.

“If you need somewhere to have Christmas dinner, please stop by. My dad always has everyone over who doesn’t have a family for Christmas, so there’s always a lot of people, but it can be nice sometimes. Fall in with the crowd, instead of something small.”

Isobel smiled in thanks. “My mom…without Max this year I have to be there. I’m sure my mom is just…freaking out. He was her pride and joy. Of course he would leave me here to disappoint her by myself.”

A couple of tears streamed down her face and Liz felt tears behind her own eyes in response. “I’m sorry, Isobel.” Sorry that she was alone. That her brother was dead. That it was her sister’s fault that he died. That she had her sister but Isobel didn’t have her brother.

“Don’t, Liz. I know you love him. I felt it, remember?”

Liz nodded and the women sat a few moment longer, crying in silence, but not alone.

* * *

  
Michael got back to his trailer and rolled his eyes when he saw that Liz’s car was parked out front. She was always taking care of Isobel. Like her guilt would go away if she made sure that Iz showered enough times. News flash, Liz, your guilt won’t go away. You got your sister back, and took our brother in the process.

Michael went right to the whiskey when he got into his trailer. No time for beer. He needed to forget again. Being sober was stupid. It had too many memories. He walked outside and sat in a lawn chair, digging his boot into the dirt. It was freezing cold, but he didn’t want to be in the small trailer after finally getting out of the small cell he’d been in all night.

It wasn’t long before he saw an SUV pull up. Alex.

  
“Look who it is! Captain Manes, himself. Aye, Soldier,” Michael drawled sarcastically when Alex got out of the car and started walking towards him. Michael mocked a solute and laughed humorlessly.

Alex had had a long fucking day already. Jeremy was pissed at him for not staying the night last night. Alex wasn’t even sure what he was doing with Jeremy other than trying to distract himself and convince himself to move the fuck on from the guy who was too screwed up to love him back. Did he like Jeremy? Yeah, sure. Did he love Jeremy? Hell no. But could he? Maybe, if he could figure out how to move on from Mr. Drunken Cowboy.

Alex rolled his eyes and looked off to the side. “I need to talk to you.”

“Talk, talk?” Michael asked. “Or _talk_, talk?” Michael raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Alex’s jaw tightened in frustration. “Enough, Guerin.”

Michael raised his eyebrows in humor and defeat. He chuckled to himself and shook his head lightly. “Whatever you say, Captain,” he said, the last word falling from Michael’s mouth with pure disgust.

“How drunk _are_ you?” Alex asked, looking around to assess the situation. Michael looked like he hadn't bathed in at least a week. His jeans were practically black with filth. Every surface in sight was covered with empty beer bottles, and there were even empty bottles of nail polish remover scattered around, which he usually threw away. Michael stumbled slightly and then caught himself on the side of his truck. He laughed to himself, and then whispered something under his breath that Alex didn’t catch.

If Alex was smart, he would leave right now. He didn’t owe Michael anything. Not even the guilt he’d held for over 10 years for what his dad had done to Michael, seeing as that was apparently no longer an issue thanks to Max’s super healing alien powers. But the thing is, Alex isn’t smart when it comes to Michael Guerin. Never had been. And right now was no exception. He was going to say his peace and then he was going to leave. For good. And oh fucking well if Michael was too drunk to remember it tomorrow. At least Alex will have said it.

“You’re a selfish asshole,” Alex started. “You are a grown ass man and you are acting a like a child. Max is dead. Shit happened with Noah. Caulfield was horrific. You met your mom and then you watched her die. And I’m sorry, Guerin. It’s been a shit year for you, fuck- a shit 20 years for you. But it has been for Isobel, too. Would it really fucking kill you to be there for your friend after she just lost her twin brother and her husband? Rather than spend every waking moment getting shitfaced and fucking every female that crosses your path?”

“Why do you care, Alex?”

“Because I still love you, Guerin. I think… I think I always will. But I’m not really sure that right now you deserve…for me to love you. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop. I can’t help but feel _everything_ for you, even when I shouldn’t.” Goddamned tears had started to gather in his eyes, but Alex tried his best to not let any fall.

“Am I supposed to be shocked?”

Alex shook his head, but didn’t break eye contact. “I know that the shit you have been through makes you think no one can love you. But the thing is, Guerin, your heart -your soul- that’s the part I can’t stop loving! The guy who wanted to be my hero when we were 17! Who cares so much for his friends that he would give up _anything_ for them. Who has never been afraid for other people to know about us. It’s your choices, Guerin! Pushing everyone away, sinking into a dark place, making bad decisions just so you can make everyone else as miserable as you feel! Dragging me _and_ Maria around like we mean nothing! It’s bullshit and I’m done with it.”

“So much for not looking away, huh, Alex?” Michael said, tears falling from his eyes.

“Fuck _off_, Guerin! I can only hold my gaze steady for so long when you are pushing my face away!” Alex’s voice broke. Defeated, he whispered through his tears, “My neck hurts from resisting and I’ve got a headache from straining my eyes. Maybe it’s time I learn how to give in.”

Michael watched as Alex turned and walked back to his car, his shoulders hunched and his head down. Michael stood in the same spot, frozen- from the weather and the conversation- for a long time. Eventually, once it had gotten dark, he made his way back to his trailer and sat down inside, feeling overwhelmed, like all the sadness of the last 5 weeks was catching up and he couldn't breathe.

“Michael? Michael let me in,” Isobel called from outside, knocking on the thin door.

It unlocked itself and Isobel came in, wrapping her arms around him. “I know,” she was whispering.

But she didn't. She didn’t know what it was like to constantly carry around all of his anger. She didn't know what it was like to watch a building full of aliens, including your own mother, blow up. Max was the one who understood the anger. Max understood all of it. He was the good one. The good brother and the good citizen and the good friend. What the fuck was Michael supposed to do, now?


	2. How's it Going to Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's New Years Eve in Roswell. And everyone is still trying to find their new normal.
> 
> Rosa and Kyle have plans to be...sibling-y. Isobel and Liz are going to get wasted at the pods with Max's body. Alex and his new...boyfriend?...Officer Woods are going to enjoy a meal in...and Michael? He's here to fuck shit up, as usual.

“Isobel? Are you home?” Isobel’s mother called as she walked into the front door of Isobel’s house.

Isobel froze, the spoon that was currently mid-air, flying over to her, fell to the ground with a clank. “In the kitchen!” She shot out of her seat at the table to grab the spoon from the ground and deposit it into the sink as her mom came in.

“Did you know that Michael Guerin has parked his…home…on the side of your house? There's beer bottles everywhere,” she said with clear disgust as she walked closer to Isobel. She grabbed Isobel into a hug, squeezing for several moments. Isobel cringed, but didn't push her off, which she knew Max would have been proud of her for.

“Mom, Michael Guerin is my brother. For better or worse. He's having a hard time with Max’s…well he's having a hard time and Max wouldn't have wanted him to suffer alone.” Isobel grabbed a mug from one if the cabinets and poured in some coffee, dropping in a cube of sugar and handing it to her mom.

“What do you mean, he's your brother?” she asked, confused. She took the coffee and sat down at the table with her daughter.

Isobel took a deep breath. “Michael was the other boy at the home. Michael was our brother. Maybe not by blood, but in every other way.”

Ann Evans did not like being caught off guard. But this was something she couldn't have prepared for. Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head. “I thought…wasn't he adopted out? Into a different state?”

Isobel met her mother's gaze. She shook her head, patiently. “No. He went to different foster homes, yes. But he came back to Roswell when were 11.”

Again, Ann’s eyes grew wide, this time with realization. Quietly, she said, “That’s why you both always took care of him in high school. He was so different than both of you I never understood why he was your best friend.”

Isobel sighed, not wanting to continue this conversation right now. “Why are you here, mom?”

“You haven’t been over since Christmas. I was worried about you.”

Isobel rolled her eyes. “Mom, that was literally last week. It's not even January, yet.”

“Well technically January is in a matter of hours and I thought maybe you wouldn’t want to be alone on New Years Eve.”

Isobel scoffed. “So you think I’d want to spend it with my parents? Mom, that’s even more depressing than spending it alone. Which I’m not going to do, by the way.” And she wasn’t. Liz had invited her to drive out to the pods and get drunk with Max’s dead body. But she wasn’t about to tell her mom that.

She rolled her eyes when she saw her mom put her hands up in front of herself, on the defense. “Okay, okay. Just thought I’d offer.” After she was met with silence, she stood from the table. “Well I’ve got to get to the store so I can start dinner for your dad. Please be in touch more often, Isobel. I’m worried about you.”

Isobel walked her out, leaning against the door with a sigh once she had the security of her mom on the other side of it. Her mommy issues weren't something she was willing to deal with right now.

After Liz had come over and told Isobel to get her shit together, Isobel had God’s honest truth tried to do just that. Only, it wasn't that easy. The sadness and numbness bit at the back of her mind at all times. So she realized that she'd need a different way to stay present. And that was by embracing the anger she felt and channeling it into learning more about her powers. For days she had been breaking down the boundaries in her head, trying things she'd previously thought only Michael had been capable of. It was exciting and addicting. And the best part was that she didn't get sick.

Isobel walked back to the kitchen, using her mind to lock her front door behind her. She opened the liquor cabinet and grabbed the Patron. She reached her hand in the general direction of the produce and smiled satisfyingly as a lime flew over to her. Why wait until tonight? Might as well get a head start.

* * *

Rosa had decided that if she was going to welcome 2019 and not get completely shitfaced, she needed to spend it with someone. She knew that Liz needed to be with Isobel and ‘Max' but she also knew that that wouldn’t help keep her sober. So, when Kyle Valenti asked if they could hang out for the 115th time this month, Rosa decided she had run out of reasons not to. “No alcohol,” had been her only request, to which Kyle had nodded vigorously and said “Of course, of course!”

He was coming over at 10 and they were going to pig out on fries and milkshakes up on the roof of the diner. What she hadn’t told Kyle is that she was finally ready to know more about all this alien shit. She hadn’t let anyone talk to her about it, yet, because she didn’t know how to process it all. But tonight, she was prepared to grill her brother (Dios mío that would never get less weird) for everything he knew. In all honesty, if she didn’t find something to distract her, she knew she would use again. And she just didn't want to.

* * *

Across town, Alex had gotten out of his car and was running through the snow and into the police station. He had takeout from the Crashdown in one hand and was balancing a drink carrier with spiked milkshakes in the other. When he got inside, he walked over to Jeremy’s desk which was currently empty. Alex shed his coat, hat, and gloves while glancing around to see where Jeremy was. He face softened, touched, when he finally saw Jeremy through the window of the station breakroom/kitchen. He was setting the small table with plates and plastic cutlery, a single candle lit on the center. Alex’s jaw tightened as he tried to hold back a smile. He picked up the food and milkshakes and walked over to the kitchen, standing in the doorway for a moment until Jeremy realized he was there and looked up at him.

Jeremy stood up straight and smiled. “Hi.”

Alex smiled a little. He walked the rest of the way in and set all the food down on the small table.

“Thank you for doing this,” Jeremy said, and he meant it. He knew that it wasn’t the most romantic way to spend New Years Eve, but he was the new guy on the force, so he had to work. And he also wanted to spend his New Years with Alex.

Alex shrugged. “I said I’d try.”

In silence, the two men worked on setting up their plates. They sat down, quietly and Jeremy raised his milkshake. Alex chuckled and raised his to clink with Jeremy’s. “To giving it another shot?”

Alex pressed his lips together and swallowed. Then slowly he nodded, almost trying to convince himself as much as he was Jeremy. They tapped their cups together and drank.

Jeremy’s eyebrows raised and he coughed. “Spiked?”

Alex smiled genuinely. “I wasn't about to let you get away with not having a single drink on New Years Eve, Jer. Besides, I know your tolerance is a lot higher than one shot of Pinnacle Whipped.”

Jeremy smiled. “Just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”

It was quiet again as they both started to eat. After a few minutes, Jeremy stopped eating and set his jaw, looking across the table at Alex. Alex knew that look. He internally groaned.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it, and maybe right now isn’t the time, but at some point we do have to talk about it, Alex.”

The simple fact that Alex’s stomach didn’t flip when Jeremy said his name was the exact reason he didn’t want to talk about it. Not now, and probably not ever. “I told you it was over, why can’t that be enough?”

“Alex, what happened between us a year ago only ended because of that look in your eyes. The one that has been there every day since I got to Roswell. It’s haunted. And damnit if it doesn’t curl my insides, because I want to fix it. But I can’t fix anything until you tell me what put it there. You might fool everyone else around this town, but I know better than to think it was put there by the war. I was there with you. And that look was already there when you joined up.”

Alex’s face had gone still, trying to put a barrier between himself and Jeremy.

Alex was saved of having to respond by the radio on Jeremy’s shoulder. “Woods. I’ve got a 10-15, subject is 10-51. Bringing him in now.”

Jeremy immediately sat straight and grabbed his radio. “Heard, I’ll prep.”

Jeremy gave Alex a look that he could feel to his bones. Then he stood and left the kitchen, leaving Alex to feel like a total asshole.

  
“Again? Jesus, does he at least pay rent?” Jeremy said to the patrol officer as he hauled a very drunk handcuffed Michael Guerin into the station.

“Started another fight at the Wild Pony, but Maria doesn’t want to press charges. We just want him to sleep it off so he doesn’t do something even more stupid tonight,” the officer explained before heading back out of the station to keep patrolling.

“Alex?” Michael slightly slurred, looking past Jeremy at the man leaning against the doorway of the kitchen, arms crossed. Jeremy turned to follow Michael’s gaze and watched as Alex stood up straight, uncrossing his arms.

There was the stomach flip that didn’t come when Jeremy said his name. There is always was when Michael said it.

“Guerin.” Alex’s voice had a hint of worry, an even smaller hint of longing, but was mostly disappointment. “Why am I not shocked?”

Jeremy looked back and forth for a moment between the two men. He shook his head, letting out a huff of air. Of fucking course. He grabbed Michael by the arm and led him back to the cell where they let drunks, mostly Michael Guerin, stay to sober up, usually following a fight at a bar.

“Why is Alex here?” Michael slurred.

“Captain Manes is none of your business.” Jeremy pushed Michael into the cell and locked it behind him. He walked to the one desk in the room and started paperwork.

“Oh no, Woods, have I struck a nerve?”

“Officer Woods,” Jeremy practically growled.

“Guerin, stop,” Alex said firmly walking into this part of the jail and closing the door behind himself.

Michael looked at him. “Why do you care, Soldier. Gotta be careful not to look my way.”

Alex felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He felt tears in his eyes.

“Alex, go back to the kitchen,” Jeremy directed, sternly but still respectfully. “Please.”

Michael’s eyes grew wide and he looked from Alex to Jeremy. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Jeremy mumbled under his breath.

“Jer, I’m-" Alex started.

“_Jer_?” Michael spat, disgusted.

“Stop it, Guerin.” Alex pleaded not only with his words but with his eyes.

“Fuck this,” Jeremy grumbled, grabbing the paperwork and walking back out to the main part of the station, shoving past Alex.

“You ruin everything.” Alex said, a tear making it’s way down Alex’s cheek.

Michael’s stomach dropped. Thank god he was so fucking drunk right now. This was too much to handle sober.

“Michael Guerin? That’s your haunted eyes?” Jeremy asked, accusingly when Alex joined him in the kitchen.

Alex shook his head. “He wasn’t always like this…he-it was – you know what, Jer, I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

Alex started to leave, but Jeremy caught him by the arm and Alex turned to face him again, not meeting his gaze. “You are…you’re absolutely right. You shouldn’t have to defend why you love someone. I’m sorry.”

Jeremy placed a hand under Alex’s chin to make him look up into Jeremy’s eyes. “If you are serious about wanting to move on from that love…if you are open to letting me help you…you have to let me in.”

Alex nodded, slowly. “Okay.”

It was going to be a long night.


	3. Make Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week or two after New Year's. Nearing closer to his discharge date, Alex starts thinking about what he is going to do next. 
> 
> Rosa and Kyle spend more time catching up.
> 
> Liz finds Isobel out of sorts

“Alex, how are you?”

Alex stood up from his seat at Jeremy’s desk. “Mrs. Valenti! I mean _Sheriff_ Valenti. Sorry, old habit. I’m doing fine, how are you?”

The Sheriff reached for Alex and gave him a quick hug. “I’m good, Captain Manes, but I might be even better if there was some way I could talk you into joining my squad after your discharge. Honorable, I’m assuming?”

Alex nodded, sheepishly. “Not quite sure a spot on the police force is in my future. Besides, hasn’t my dad made your life hell?”

She raised an eyebrow at Alex. “Hasn’t he made yours worse?”

Alex pursed his lips in defeat.

“Just think on it. Let me know if there is anything I can do to change your mind. When is your official discharge date?”

“February one.”

Sherriff Valenti nodded slowly and then offered a questioning smile. “An 11 year enlistment? Don’t think I’ve ever heard of something like that.”

“My original enlistment was 6 year active duty. I re-enlisted for another 4. Lost my leg at year 3, so they had me extend for medical. At least losing my leg relieved me of my 2-year reserve. How did you know my discharge was coming up?”

“That would be my fault,” Jeremy said as he walked back to the desk and set down one cup of coffee in front of Alex, still holding a mug for himself. “And probably Cameron.”

Sheriff Valenti smiled and nodded. “And Kyle, to be honest. You have a lot of people who are very proud, Alex. A lot of people who don’t share your last name.”

Alex smiled, tightly, and nodded his head. She clapped him on the shoulder and walked back to her office.

Jeremy sat down, but Alex was still too irritated to do so.

“Are you mad?” Jeremy asked.

“It’s not your place, Jer.”

“You’re going to be bored. February first is in two weeks!”

The two were interrupted when Jenna walked out of a conference room, groaning loudly as she walked into the kitchen. She re-emerged a moment later with a cup of coffee in hand. “If I have to sit through one more Web class called something like ‘Disarming your service weapon: Understand your power’ I think I might actually use that power against myself and put myself out of my misery.”

Alex chuckled. “A little dramatic. How much longer have you got of this?”

“Tomorrow is my last day of it, thank God. Next week I return to the streets.” She stopped talking and looked at each of their faces. “Oh, shit. Looks like I have interrupted something. You two keep fighting, I’ll go back to my consequence cave.”

“No, it’s fine. I was just leaving,” Alex said, and he grabbed his coat, shrugging it on.

Jenna went back to the conference room, anyways. Jeremy shook his head and stood, grabbing Alex’s arm. “Don’t go. I’m sorry I crossed the line.”

“I’ll just call you later.”

“Alex,” Jeremy said, his voice slightly desperate.

Alex would have turned to look back at him- really he would have- if he wasn’t suddenly struck with the realization that from this angle, standing slightly away from Jeremy’s desk, he could see perfectly into the drunk tank cell. And who might be there but one Michael Guerin.

Alex’s stomach clenched and his breath caught in his throat. After a moment, he shook his head to try to clear it. He pulled his arm away from Jeremy’s hold and walked out to his car.

“Did you finish Rosa’s paper, yet?” Kyle asked as Alex entered the Project Shepard bunker.

Alex nodded and set his backpack onto the table, starting to rummage through it to find what he was looking for. When he did, he reached out to Kyle, handing him the social security card, driver’s license, and birth certificate for Anna Ortecho, with Rosa’s photo.

Kyle took the documents and thanked Alex. “You okay?”

Alex nodded. “You told your mom I should join the police force?”

Kyle shook his head. “No, Jeremy and Cameron told my mom that. I just told her –after she asked - that you were a lot different than your dad. That, if you thought you might want to be a cop, you’d be a fucking awesome one.”

“I just feel like Jeremy wants me to fit into this mold. Be the token gay kid Roswell expects me to be. Get a job in the town, get married, buy a house, and never leave.” Alex was chewing the inside of his cheek.

“What do you want?”

Alex shook his head. “I don’t…I don’t know. But I do know I’ve spent my whole life following the orders of someone else. And I don’t want to do that anymore.”

Kyle nodded. “Have you told him that?”

Alex was quiet. “I feel like…I guess I feel like a shouldn’t have to,” _because Michael already gets it_ he thinks. Kyle must know what he was thinking, because he smiles.

“Some relationships require actual communication, Alex.”

After a moment, Kyle got up and started to put on his coat, shoving Rosa’s new documents into the coat’s inside pocket.

“What are you guys doing today?” Alex asked, motioning to the door.

“She wants to go see Max’s body. I told her that it is really disconcerting to see his body in the pod, but she feels like she needs to. She’s been having a lot of dreams about it lately. Hey- if you talk to Liz, will you have her check on Isobel? She’s been a little MIA lately.”

Alex nodded and said goodbye. He turned to the monitors and started to search for Mara again. He had been scouring for footage of her, hoping to have some idea of her 70+ years in that prison. A few weeks ago, Alex had found footage of her from early on, in 1963. She was still stunning, but the torture had already made quite a bit of damage to her features- sunken eyes, thin body, sad eyes. Alex wondered what she was going through inside, probably so worried about her son. And what really fucked Alex up was that she had every right to be worried about him- because he would grow up being shit on and kicked around, never believing he was worthy of love.

“It’s not as weird as I thought it would be,” Rosa admitted, reaching a hand up to touch the pod where Max’s forehead was resting on the other side.

“Did you- could you hear anything while you were in Noah’s?” Kyle asked.

Rosa shook her head, no. “I was dead, Kyle. Like really, literally, actually dead. Not in ‘stasis,’ actually dead. The pod just preserved my body.”

“So when you woke up…”

“It was like- I knew I had been dead. I knew I had probably been dead for quite a while. And now I was just alive again. Here’s the shit thing, though. Maybe Max was able to heal my body, but he couldn’t heal my mind. So, after all the chaos and everything, once I was alone, in bed, trying to sleep- all I could think about was getting high.”

Rosa was usually a lot quieter than this. She didn’t share much and she did _not_ get vulnerable. But Kyle had been spending a lot of time with her over the past few weeks, trying to help her transition back to be alive again. And with time, she started to trust him a little.

“Was my dad- I mean, I guess _our_ dad- was he trying to help you get sober?”

Rosa scoffed. “Chill, Kyle, he was _your_ dad. Arturo is _actually_ my dad, as hard as that is. Your dad was just a sperm donor.” She was quiet for a moment. Then she added, “Yeah. He, like, understood – no judgment. It was really fucking awesome, actually.”

Kyle nodded slowly. “Alex always tells me how great of a dad he was to everyone.”

Rosa nodded. “Yeah. He was.”

“Okay, I’m sorry, we need to revisit this- Alex and Michael Guerin? But now, Alex and the big cop?” Rosa asked, changing the subject.

Kyle laughed. “Yeah. Honestly Michael had tried things out with Maria for a-“  


“Maria?! _My_ Maria?”

Kyle nodded. “Yeah. Started a few months back. I’m not totally sure how it ended, but Michael has been kind of like a powder keg lately, so…”

“Because of Max?”

“And Caulfield, is my best guess.”

Rosa shook her head, her mouth open and her eyebrows raised. “What a seriously tortured soul. How is…how is Isobel?”

Kyle swallowed. “She has been pretty messed up, too. Lost her brother and her husband in the same day. She had been getting all of her memories back- memories of her time with you when Noah was in control of her body- and that adds a layer of confusion.”

“Yeah, _heard that_ for real,” Rosa added sarcastically.

Kyle nodded. “I know it’s a lot to come back to. We aren’t kids anymore. We are adults with real life problems. And some of those problems are straight from a sci-fi flick. Just take your time.”

Rosa nodded. “Yeah. Don’t want to teeter too close to the edge or I’ll fall right back to old habits…” 

“Isobel?” Liz called, entering Isobel’s house cautiously due to the loud noises she could hear coming from inside as she pulled up. When there was no answer, Liz closed the front door behind her and continued into the house, shouting for Isobel louder.

“In the upstairs guest room!” Isobel called down.

Liz couldn’t help but stare at the loads of broken furniture, dishes, and other household goods that littered the entire house. She made her way slowly up the stairs until she found Isobel in a bedroom, filled with shredded clothing. Isobel turned to look at Liz and Liz was struck by the wild look in Isobel’s eyes. She had on thicker makeup than she usually wore and her hair was curled into beachy waves. She wore a tight dress and heels with a black leather jacket.

“What…What’s happening?” Liz stuttered, at a loss for words. She knew that she had gotten sucked into her research at the lab, but didn’t realize she had let things get so out of control with Isobel.

Isobel shrugged. “I’m trying something new.”

“Does that include finding out what it’s like to live in a crazy house and learn how to break every piece of furniture in sight?”

Isobel looked bored. “It’s all Noah’s. It has to go. The more I use my powers, the stronger they get. It’s a little addictive,” she said with a devious smile.

Liz shook her head and took a deep breath. She was going to need reinforcements.


	4. The Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly Malex for this short chapter

When Alex got back to the cabin, he dropped his keys on the coffee table and headed to the bathroom to take a piss. He was surprised to find that there were handle bars installed next to the toilet and shower, and there was a little nook made of wood, where he always stuck his crutches when he got in the shower. Countless times he had put them there and they had fallen. A smile touched his lips when he realized that Jeremy had quietly fixed that issue for him. He touched the wood that had been drilled in to make the nook.

He went back out to the living room and grabbed his phone, dialing Jeremy's number. It went to voicemail, which Alex wasn’t surprised by, since Jeremy would be at work right now. “Thank you,” he said lovingly into the voicemail, before hanging up. He walked to the kitchen to start heating a pot of water for tea. He turned at the sound of a knock at the door. He walked to it, cautiously.

Liz. He opened the door to let her in. She looked run down, exhausted. She offered him a hesitant smile. “Hi. Sorry to bother you, but do you have a minute? I need your help.”

* * *

“What are you doing here?” Michael called out from his seat in front of the fire as he watched Alex climb out of his SUV and start walking toward him.

It was only 4pm, but Alex couldn’t totally tell if Michael was sober. From what Liz had said, he guessed not. He continued walking toward Michael, his hands in his pockets. “I was hoping we could- maybe, we could talk?”

Michael didn’t say anything for a moment, he just stared at Alex. Then he stood up, walked casually into his trailer, and returned a second later with 2 beers in his hand. He handed one to Alex and motioned to the fire, which was surrounded by chairs as a Michael Guerin fire always was.

Alex nodded his thanks and sat down across from Michael, taking a sip from the beer.

“No _Jer_ today?” Michael asked, using Alex’s nickname for Jeremy.

Alex shook his head. “Liz is worried about you. Actually, to be totally honest, she’s worried about Isobel and she needs you to clean the fuck up so you can help her.”

Michael nodded slowly in understanding. “So, you’re going to fix me up?”

“I told her I’d give it a shot. Besides, there are some things I need your help with that are Project Shepherd related. Figured a cleaned-up Michael Guerin would be more helpful to everyone.”

Michael let out a laugh that had no humor behind it. “Right. Because I’m just a tool.”

Alex shook his head. “You know that’s not true.”

“What the hell do you see in that cop?” Michael asked, changing the subject.

Alex didn’t mind. He went along with it. This was something they needed to talk about, anyways. “We were together when he was still in the Air Force. He knows me. He cares about me. And he’s safe.”

“_Safe_? Since when do you choose _safe_?” Michael responded, his mouth twisting the word ‘safe' like it was sour in his mouth.

Alex met Michael dead in the eyes. “I didn’t choose safe. I chose you, Guerin. You just didn’t choose me back.”

Michael’s eyebrows raised high and he pressed his lips together, impressed but surprised at Alex’s honesty. After a moment, he said, “So we are just going to ignore all the times I chose you and you ran away?”

Alex looked past Michael, lost in thought for a moment. When he looked back into Michael’s eyes, they seemed more calm, defeated even. “Yeah, I messed up. A lot. But let’s not try to pretend that if you actually came _to me_ for once - next week, next year, hell even 20 years from now – that I wouldn’t drop anyone and anything to be with you. I’m just not sure you ever will. So, I’m trying to move on and find some semblance of happiness.”

Michael’s eyes were wet at the edges and he was quiet for a long time. He cleared his throat. “That’s a real declaration, there, Private.”

“Yeah, I’m done dancing around things with you, Guerin. It may have taken me a minute, but I made up my mind about you. And I’m slightly stubborn, so that decision won’t be changing anytime soon. Not for Jeremy or for anyone. I’m sorry if that feels like too much. But I told Liz I would help you. And I didn’t think it would be fair for you to spend a ton of time with me without knowing where I stand.”

Michael was staring at his boots, nodding. “Understood. But for the record, Alex,” he lifted his head to look at Alex again, “I’m not sure if I ever will, either.”

Alex knew this. Still didn’t hurt less, but it made it easier to stay calm on the outside. “Understood.”

They sat there in silence for a while, neither ready to say goodbye, but neither knowing what more to say. After 20 minutes or so, Alex stood and emptied his beer, setting the bottle on a surface already covered in empty bottles. “I’ll be by tomorrow at 10 to pick you up. Please be sober-ish. I need your help.”

“Where are we going?”

“I found something in the Caulfield files that makes me think there’s another prison. I need your help figuring it’s location.”

And just like that, Alex was gone. And Michael was left, reeling with echoes of Alex’s words all night.

* * *

As promised, Alex pulled up at exactly 10am the next morning. Michael had tried to stay completely sober, but he had downed 2 beers and a bottle of acetone in a moment of weakness around 9. Still, he had only taken the edge off and was the most sober he had been in weeks -hell, months – so he considered it a win.

The car ride was quiet. Alex had the stereo turned down low, but Michael could still hear the chords of the Incubus song, I Miss You, playing. He cleared his throat and glanced at Alex. “Look, Alex, yesterday, what you said-"

“Don’t, Guerin. Just leave it. I was being honest. And so were you. Just because it hurts doesn’t make it less true. I’d choose you. If you were ever ready, seriously ready and not trying to fuck with my head, I would upend my life to be with you. And you aren’t sure you ever will. And both of those facts are okay. As long as we have them out in the open.”

Alex hadn’t looked away from the road while he spoke and Michael was struck with how much Alex had changed since he got back to Roswell. He was more confident, more sure of himself. Michael shook his head and looked forward at the road again.

“You’ve got all the answers, now, don’t you, Private,” Michael said with more bitterness than he intended.

Alex bit at his lower lip to try to hide his smile. “Yeah,” he said and it came out as a chuckle. “I’m wise, now.”

Michael let himself smile a little. “I wouldn’t go that far.”


	5. Consequence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember that this is still a Malex endgame fic! I just think that it's a little bit of a journey first! ;)

“I want a baby.”

Liz shifted, uncomfortably, in her seat and cleared her throat. “Like, now?”

Isobel nodded and took a sip of her coffee. “Yes. Noah always wanted one and I was always too afraid, but the reality is that I want to be a mother. And not at 35 or 40 years old. Now.”

Liz reached across Isobel’s kitchen table and grabbed her hand, squeezing. “I’m not sure…I mean, Isobel, I don’t know if…how…who would you?”

Isobel pulled her hand from Liz’s and smiled, tightly. “I haven’t figured out how, yet, but I’m going to make it happen.”

Liz took a deep breath and pulled her phone out, texting Alex to find out an update on Michael. Her phone started to vibrate, indicating Rosa was calling. She answered and put the phone to her ear.

“Elizabeth!” Rosa sang from the other end of the phone.

“Rosaaa,” Liz sang back.

“Hey are you coming back soon? I want to go shopping and find a gift to celebrate Alex’s soon-to-be ‘freedom.’”

“I just got to Isobel’s not to long ago. Can you ask Kyle? Or borrow dad’s car?”

“Dad has Victor running errands with the car for the restaurant. And I’d ask Kyle, but I just… I don’t want to like… overload him. I know I can be a lot.”

Liz could hear the self-doubt in Rosa’s voice. Still waiting for rejection, still assuming she’s a burden. “Okay, I’ll head over there in a minute.”

When she ended the call, she noticed an envelope on her phone screen, indicating that Alex had responded to her text. _Better every day. Not 100% yet_

* * *

Michael eyed Alex as he read Liz’s reply. He knew it was none of his business, but still annoyed him how often Jeremy texted Alex. Controlling much?

_Good. Can’t get his help fast enough. Isobel getting weirder._

Alex sighed as he read the text. He sent back _Still finding her limits? Dangerous at all?_

_She wants a baby. Real life baby._ At that, Alex couldn’t help that his eyebrows had shot up to his hairline. Shit. That wasn’t something he could focus on right now.

“Does he ever just let you be?” Michael asked, somewhat begrudgingly.

Alex screwed up his eyebrows in confusion and tilted his head at Michael, questioningly.

“Mr. Policeman,” Michael said in answer, turning to the coffeepot in the corner of the stingy bunker and pouring himself a cup.

Alex smiled slightly and shook his head. “It was Liz. Asking about you, actually.”

Michael’s eyes widened in understanding and he nodded slowly. “Gotcha. What did you tell her?”

“That you're a jealous asshole who asks to many questions,” Kyle called from his seat in front of the monitors. “Is Liz with Rosa right now?”

Alex typed the question to Liz and waited, thankfully briefly, for her reply. “No, but she's going to pick Rosa up right now. Rosa wants to run some errands.”

Kyle was quiet for a moment. He looked down at his phone to see if he had any missed calls or messages from Rosa but he had none. “I’ve got to run. Call me if you find anything?”

Alex watched as Kyle got up and headed for the exit. “Will do.”

* * *

I’ve got Rosa, Kyle sent to Liz as he climbed into his car. When he pulled up at the diner, he shot Rosa a text that he was out front. A moment later, Rosa came outside and walked up to the passenger side window, gesturing for Kyle to roll it down. He did.

“I'm okay today, Kyle. Liz is going to take me to run an errand.” Rosa explained.

“No, no, I can do it. I texted her that I was coming instead.” He waved his hand at her to come inside the car and sit down. She hesitated. “Did I… did I mess up somehow? Are you angry with me?”

Rosa shook her head, no. “You're just too nice to me, Kyle. I don't want to take advantage of you.”

Kyle shook his head. “That's not fair, Rosa. You're my sister. I want to get to know you. Believe it or not I actually like spending time with you.”

Rosa tried to hold back a smile but was unsuccessful. After another moment, she opened the passenger door and climbed in, rolling the window back up.

“What errand are we running?”

“I want to get Alex Manes something. To say congratulations for being out of the Air Force next week or whatever.”

Kyle nodded and put the car in drive. “I know exactly where to go.”

* * *

For 2 weeks, Alex had been coming by in the morning to pick up Michael and take him to the underground bunker. He was showing Michael everything they had, hoping to get something solid before his discharge. He had no intention of stopping, but wanted to be able to use his clearance as needed.

And for those 2 weeks, Michael had stayed clear of the stumbling drunkenness that used to land him in the drunk tank. Each day they made small talk. Sometimes they would talk about deeper things, events from the 10 years they had been apart or friends that Alex made in the military. Yesterday, Alex had started to ask about Maria, but Michael had gone stiff and then Kyle got there. They both knew they needed to finish the conversation, but now that Kyle had left neither knew where to start.

“Look, Alex. I wasn’t trying to hurt you. With Maria.” Michael had started, still standing awkwardly by the coffee- on the other side of the room from Alex who sat at the monitors.

Alex turned to face him, shaking his head. “You don’t have to explain.”

“Yeah, I do. I know she was your friend, but it wasn’t her fault. Listen I don’t want to hurt you, but I need you to understand that she and I had a real connection. And yeah, maybe it wasn’t as intense or immediate as what you and I had, but it was still real. And it was just really fucking nice to not have the shit history or difficult memories. It was just easy and nice and fun. It was…it felt really good to have her want to be with me without any of the whiplash.”

Alex had stood from the monitors and moved to sit on the steps, watching Michael as he spoke. He knew his eyes were wet, but willed the tears to stay in his eyes and not fall. He let the room fill with silence for a while. “I get all of those things, Guerin. But why, then, have you been treating her like shit?”

Michael swallowed and shook his head, biting his lip. “It’s what I’m good at.”

“Maria knew my feelings for you, so it is her fault. That is a friendship boundary that she chose to cross and I’m not sure she’ll come back from. But she still deserves better, Guerin. You still need to make amends.”

A tear fell from Michael’s eye and he turned his head to look away for a minute. He took a deep breath and then looked back at Alex. His heart still clenched at how attractive that man was, military hair cut or not. “Alex,” he started, but Alex shook his head in interruption and stood.

“I think we are close to finding the Nevada location. We just need to focus.”

* * *

Maria would normally close up in 30 more minutes, but she’d had a long day with her mom and didn’t feel like dealing with everyone for 30 more minutes. She hollered out that they were closing early and started to get everyone paid out and wrangled to the door. Just as she was cashing out the last customer, Michael walked in. She finished what she was doing without acknowledging him. He stood awkwardly until the bar was completely empty, save for the 2 of them.

“I owe you an apology,” he said quietly, chancing a glance up at her. She stopped what she was doing and looked at him, waiting for him to continue. “I have this thing where I kind of push away everyone I care about whenever I’m going through something. Self-sabotage or something equally pathetic.”

Maria walked out from behind the bar and walked to him. She put a hand on his cheek. He met her gaze. “I have this thing where I can’t help but forgive the people I care about. Especially when their best friend just died.”

Michael felt the tears before he realized he was even crying. “Max was my brother. And he was always the good one, even when we were in the foster home before he and Iz got adopted and I got sent away. Now there’s no good one, DeLuca.”

She shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks as well. She pulled him tightly into a hug. “Oh, please, Guerin. There’s more good in you than any of us knows what to do with. You’re just only comfortable when you hide it.”


	6. Semi-Charmed Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Isobel have a chance to talk.

If he was being honest, Alex couldn’t decide if he was doing the right thing. Staying in the Air Force meant he would continue to have access to information he otherwise wouldn’t. But was he really ready to stay in and be under the thumb of the US Government for another 2-6 years? No. So this was it.

He stared at himself in the mirror, in his uniform, beret in place for the discharge ceremony. Leave it to Roswell to throw a whole damn parade. He took a deep breath and turned to head into town.

* * *

Michael was waiting by Alex’s car after the ceremony. Alex’s eyebrows furrowed in question as he approached, feeling the twinge in his gut at seeing Michael leaning against the driver’s side door, hat on, hands in his pockets. His breath caught in his throat when Michael looked up and into Alex’s eyes. He stood a couple feet away, removing his beret.

Michael stood so that he wasn’t leaning against the car anymore. He took his hat off.

“Everything okay?” Alex asked.

Michael nodded slowly. “As good as they can be.”

“Guerin?” Alex asked, prompting Michael to explain why he was waiting at Alex’s car instead of at the party with everyone else. Leave it to Rosa, Liz, and even Isobel to make sure a ceremony and party were thrown to celebrate his exit from the military.

Michael took a deep breath. “I didn’t know if you wanted me at the party thing.”

Alex shook his head. “I- sure, I mean I don’t really care.” After a moment of staring at Michael, he realized his body was moving closer to Michael of its own volition. He reached out a hand and placed it on Michael’s chest, feeling his own breathing increase. They had been working together for weeks, now, and while there was sexual tension, fucking obviously, he had never acted. Not only because of Jeremy but also because he had put the ball back in Michael’s court and Michael hadn’t acted on it. He could feel Michael’s heart racing under his hand.

Slowly, Alex lifted his gaze again from Michael’s chest to his face. Almost a question. After a moment, Michael’s eyes shifted and a look of anger settled on his features. He looked off to the side as though he couldn’t stand looking at Alex’s face anymore. His hand wrapped around Alex’s wrist and he pulled it away.

“Not fucking fair, Alex,” Michael practically growled.

Alex took a deep breath and tried to search Michael’s face. “I’m sorry, I just-"

“You just nothing. Everything is _not_ always on your goddamn terms, anymore! Jesus, you really are more of a Manes than you think!”

Alex’s body recoiled in response and he backed away. “Excuse me?”

“Seriously, Alex? We were 17 years old and even though your dad fucked my shit up, I still wanted to be with you! But you broke it off and you left. And when you get back 10 years later it’s still all up to you! Kiss me, go away, be with me, back off you’re a criminal, I want to know you, it’s too much, I’m ready now, fucking christ! And now you tell me it’s my decision, but here you are less than a month later pushing it. Do you think this is easy for me, Alex? My body wants you and is drawn to you like a damn magnet, but I’m trying to figure out what my head needs, my heart needs, too! And I’m sorry, but that means I’m giving it a shot with Maria. So back off!”

Alex watched Michael storm away, realizing he was breathing fast, as though the adrenaline had knocked the air from his lungs. _Fuck_.

* * *

“Really?” Alex asked, seriously annoyed. It had been 10 days since his discharge and here he was at the police station, once again.

“Hey, you weren’t my one call,” Michael drawled with a smirk from inside the bars of the drunk tank.

“Alex, this is the 3rd time in a week. It’s getting ridiculous. He’s worse than he was before...” Jeremy didn’t finish, but Alex knew what he meant. _Before you started helping him._

Alex could see that Jeremy was both irritated and concerned. And he knew the concern was not toward Michael. He offered Jeremy an apologetic smile and Jeremy relaxed slightly. He went to the cell and unlocked it, grabbing Michael by the arm and leading him out. Michael tore his arm away from Jeremy and turned his head to give the man a look of disgust. Alex shook his head and walked forward, grabbing Michael by the elbow when he started to stumble forward. Michael regained his footing and headed outside.

“Food!” Michael all but yelled as they finally stepped out into the parking lot. Alex couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Careful, Guerin! If you fall I don’t need you to drag me down with you,” Alex told him, tightening his grip on Michael’s arm as the drunk man swayed.

“I need food!” Michael insisted. “And booze!”

“You need sleep. And, yes, probably some food. I’ll stop at the Crashdown. Guerin!” Alex shouted to try and refocus Michael. He pointed at the passenger side door of his car. “Get in, let’s go. Don’t puke, please.”

Michael slid into the SUV and closed the door, laying his head back against the seat rest, closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath. Alex climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car and headed toward the diner.

“At some point you need to tell me what’s going on, Guerin,” Alex said softly.

Michael kept his eyes closed and gave no indication that he heard Alex. By the time they reached the Crashdown, Alex was convinced Michael had fallen asleep. He kept the car running while he ran in to grab the food.

Alex decided that taking Michael to Isobel’s and putting him in an actual bed with an actual bathroom was probably his best bet. He parked in front of the Airstream and ran the food into the house. When he got back outside, he went to Michael’s door and opened it, pausing when he heard Michael finally speak.

“I keep hearing them all dying.” He hadn’t opened his eyes or made an attempt at moving.

“At Caulfield?” it was a question, but it really wasn’t. He knew the answer.

A couple of tears slipped out of Michael’s still-shut eyes. “Especially my mom.”

Alex sat in the silence for a moment. Then he asked, “For how long?”

“Since it happened. Worse now with us closing in on Nevada.”

Alex swallowed, his jaw tightening. He shouldn’t have asked for Michael’s help. This was too hard for him. No fucking wonder Michael didn’t want to be with Alex anymore. Every time he looked at Alex he was probably reminded of all the worst moments of his life. Let alone having to touch or kiss Alex. That would be torture. Damnit. He really messed up when he made a move on Michael last week.

“They are there, Alex. I can feel it, somehow. We need to go soon.” Michael had opened his eyes and was boring them into Alex’s.

Alex nodded his understanding. “Okay,” he said, “but first you need to sleep this off. You aren’t any help to anyone like this.”

Alex hoisted Michael from the car and led him into Isobel’s house.

* * *

“He's not used to this,” Isobel said, using her mind to send a bottle of water flying through the air and into the living room. Alex caught it easily and thanked her.

“Used to what?” he asked.

“Being needed this much. By everyone. He thinks he’ll let everyone down.”

Alex’s eyebrows drew together. He looked over at her again when she continued to explain, but her voice was distant and her eyes were staring off at nothing.

“Liz needs his help to bring Max back. Max’s life is depending on that. You need him to help find out if there are more of us. I need his help just surviving.”

“And Maria-"

“She doesn’t need him,” Isobel interrupted. “That’s what draws him to her. She wants to be around him. She doesn’t actually _need_ it. She has little expectations of him, she knows and understands him… He cant let her down.” Isobel finally turned her head to meet Alex’s eyes. “She’s independent. But she still wants him around. That’s what can help heal a broken heart.”

Alex pursed his lips and looked off the side. She was right, but that didn’t make it hurt less. He wasn’t sure if she was trying to hurt him or if she was just making conversation. She _had_ to know about them at this point, right?

“He wants to tell her. Maria.”

Alex’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. But after a moment, he shrugged. At this point it made sense for her to know. “He’s not going to let any of us down.”

“I know that. But he doesn’t. He’s used to Max being the hero. It gave him the freedom to fuck up in peace.”

Alex felt his adrenaline surge. He needed to fix things. All he and his ‘family’ had ever done was cause damage to the lives of Michael and his family. It was time for Alex to figure out how the hell to start making up for it.

“Have you always been this angry? And I’ve just never really looked? The rage just rolls off of you and surrounds you.”

“I thought you were more of an influence of people’s thoughts and actions. Not an empath.”

Isobel smiled slightly. “I think we all are empaths to a point. We can feel each other. Max could use his hand to show others his memories and feelings. I think it’s in all of us, if we choose to listen.”

Alex let that sink in for a moment. “How did Noah block you out?”

“He was strong. But I won’t let that happen again.” A flash of something almost dangerous shown in her eyes for a moment and Alex couldn’t help but thinking that maybe she could finally see his anger because it was something she could genuinely understand.

The anger, for both of them- at the people who were supposed to care for them but instead hurt them and the people they loved; at themselves for not being able to protect themselves or the people they loved- was starting to take over.

* * *

_Will you come?_

_Yeah. I have Thur/Fri off. Can it wait till then?_

_Yes. My cabin @ 5am Thurs_

Kyle rolled his eyes at that last text from Alex.

“Someone being annoying?” Rosa asked. They were at the counter at the diner, finishing breakfast before he went to work.

He shook his head ‘no.’ “Just Alex. He and Michael Guerin think they found another prison and he wants to drive there this week.”

“Where at?”

“Southern Nevada.”

“They want you to go?” Rosa asked as she popped a breakfast potato in her mouth.

Kyle nodded. “It’s like a 10 hour drive, 11 if we make any stops. 11 hours. In a car with the sexual tension twins.”

Rosa laughed and downed the last of her coffee. “I could go. I don’t mind long car drives. And I could supply good music.”

“No. If it’s anything like Caulfield, I don’t want you or Liz or anyone else near it.”

Rosa raised her hands to her chest, palms out to show a dramatic defeat. She rolled her eyes and got up from her seat, starting to walk away. “Whatever, Valenti. Have fun.”

In these moments, as she stormed away like an angry teenager, Kyle remembered that Rosa really _was_ still just a teenager. He shook his head and got up, leaving money on the counter for his meal before he headed to the hospital.


	7. You Oughta Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Liz tell Maria about aliens.
> 
> Kyle, Alex, and Michael head to Nevada to see if there are more alien survivors

“Remember how I told you I had a cousin in town? That my dad and I haven't seen in a long time?”

“Of course, did you finally bring her by for me to meet?”

“Hold on, Maria, I'm about to try to explain something and it’s going to sound crazy. Stay with me."

Maria nodded, nervously. 

“Do you know how I told you Max was hurt? In a coma at a specialty hospital?”

Maria nodded again slowly. 

“Okay, those things- they aren't entirely true. And Michael and I think it’s time to stop protecting you and finally fill you in on what's going on. “

“You and Michael? What do you mean?”

“It's not like that. Just let us explain.”

Together, Michael and Liz took turns talking. Maria stayed still and quiet for the most part. When they finished explaining, the room was quiet for a long time. With tears in her eyes, clearly overwhelmed, Maria lifted her head and looked at Liz. 

“My mom…” she started, but she didn't quite know how to finish, because she didn't quite know what she was asking. 

“That’s why I wanted to tell you. When we were talking that day, you told me that she had seen so many doctors and that they couldn’t figure out what is happening to her. The last couple weeks I have been getting this nagging feeling that the explanation is more alien than human.”

“Like one of them did something to her? Hurt her?”

Michael and Liz shook their heads. “I think it’s more complicated. I feel like maybe someone tried to erase themselves from her memory. But instead it just left her jumbled and confused.”

“Kyle Valenti and Alex Manes have been working on finding if there are more of us out there- more people that are like me than just Max, Isobel, Noah, and the ones that got blown up at the prison. If we can find more people I'm hoping to find more answers. Find out if we can help your mom. But in the meantime, I want Isobel to spend some time with her, see if she can find anything-"

“In her head. You want your psycho pseudo-sister to break into my mom’s brain.”

“Please at least consider it, DeLuca. She won’t do any damage, but maybe she can find out new information.”

Liz and Michael exchanged a look. Liz turned back to Maria and grabbed her hand in both of her own. “I know this is a lot to process. And we want to give you time. Kyle and Alex are taking Michael to Nevada on a lead for a few days. But I’ll be around. And so will Isobel. And once you’re up for it, I know Rosa will want to see you.”

A few tears fell from Maria's eyes and she wiped at them angrily. “This is a lot.”

Michael swallowed and looked down. “Deal breaker?”

Maria looked at him for a moment and then a shadow of a smile appeared on her face. “If bisexual town drunk and my best friend’s ex weren’t, then super powered alien cowboy probably won’t be either.”

Michael smiled and licked his lips. “Okay, then.”

“Do you want us to stay for a while, or give you some time?” Liz asked.

Maria took a deep breath. “Time, I think. Just a little bit.”

Michael and Liz stood. Liz squeezed Maria’s shoulder and Michael leaned down to his her hair. She smiled somewhat hesitantly at them as they made their way out to the parking lot. They climbed into Michael's truck and made their way back to Isobel’s, where everyone else would be waiting for them. 

\--------------------------

Michael woke up to Alex’s laugh. It was warm and genuine and it was one of the best sounds ever. It took him a moment to realize he was asleep in the back of Alex’s SUV. He kept his hat over his face, but focused for a moment to hear what had gotten Alex laughing.

“Seriously awful. These aren’t even singers, they are just people who talk into the microphone so that the record label can autotune it into music,” Alex was saying, humor still in his tone.

“Okay, so what would you recommend, then, Taylor Swift?” Kyle asked, playing at defensiveness, but humor in his tone as well.

Michael let himself tune out again so that he could fall back to sleep. 

“Beef jerky,” Alex answered, pointing in the vague direction of the bag of gas station food they had bought a few cities back.

In the passenger seat, Kyle rummaged around until he found the beef jerky, opened it and stole a piece, and then handed it to Alex. Alex took a piece and bit into it, still looking ahead as he drove.

“So how does Jeremy feel about this trip?” Kyle asked, attempting nonchalance, but failing.

Alex glanced back at Michael, briefly, before turning his eyes forward again. “He’s fine with it.”

“Why do I feel like there’s more to it than that?”

Alex’s jaw tightened and he took a deep breath. “Michael and I are…we’re friends.”

“Is that your choice?” Kyle asked. “Or his.”

“Look, it might not be my choice, but I get it. How could you be with someone if every time you looked at them you saw all the bad things that have happened to you? I mean when he looks at me, I’m sure he is seeing his mom die, among other memories. I know he could never be with me. And I don’t blame him.”

It was quiet for a long time. Then Kyle said, “I think it’s bullshit you put all that on yourself, Manes. He’s not the only one who hasn’t had the easiest time in life. You’ve got trauma, too. We all do. That doesn’t give us a right to shit on the people we love.”

Alex huffed a humorless laugh. “I lost a leg, Kyle. Michael lost his family.”

Kyle shook his head. “You baby him.”

“You don’t know everything,” Alex’s voice was rising in anger. “I have fucked up a lot with Michael. I’m not babying him, I’m just finally ready to be there for him!”

“Relax, I get it. I just think you deserve someone to be there for you, too.” Kyle said, defensively raising his palms out in front of him.

Alex pursed his lips, but didn’t reply._ I don’t deserve anything._

In the backseat, Michael had woken up. His eyes stung at hearing Alex talk. And his heart clenched at hearing Alex call him by his first name. At some point he needed to address a few things with Alex. But clearly, right now wasn’t the time. He cleared his throat after a few minutes and removed his hat from his face, sitting upright and glancing out of the window. 

“Welcome back to the land of the living, sleeping beauty,” Kyle told him. He held up the bag of gas station food. “Hungry?”

Michael shook his head. “I could use a beer.”

Alex shook his head and rolled his eyes. “How about water, instead?”

Michael shrugged. “Bud Light is fine.”

\--------------------------------

They had stopped at a dive outside of Palm Gardens for some food and to talk about a plan. They sat in a booth in the corner and Michael had slammed 2 shots of whiskey before he started nursing a beer. Alex had brought in his tablet and was poking at it, quickly. Michael was practically shaking with nervous energy. Kyle looked at each of the men and shook his head, raising a hand to wave down the waitress.

“Ready for food?” she asked when she got to their table.

Kyle ordered and then nudged at Alex while Michael ordered to get his attention. Alex ordered a burger and fries without ever glancing at the menu. Once the waitress walked away again, Alex took a deep breath and set the tablet down.

“Okay, listen. We need to be smarter this time. We have been in the car for 10 hours. I think we need to find a hotel to rest and bunker down for the night. I can get a drone over to Searchlight to see if we can gather any more information before we go in.”

Michael was shaking his head ‘no.’ “I don’t think I can wait, Alex. We’re not even 30 miles away, I can feel them already. I can hear them.”

“You’re more tuned into it this time? Now that you know what you’re looking for?” Kyle asked.

Michael nodded, still jittery. “I don’t know, maybe. But I don’t know if I can sleep knowing they are right there.”

Alex swallowed and his jaw tightened. “We need to figure out what we are going to do with them, Guerin. We need to be more careful, this time. If there is as little protection around the building as there was at Caulfield, I should be able to get a lot of footage with the drone. We won’t have to go in blind. We can make a plan for how to get them out and what to do with them after.”

“Can you tell how many there are?” Kyle asked.

Michael shook his head. “No.”

“If the cells are anything like Caulfield, I think they are electronically locked. There has to be a mainframe I can hack into or find ahead of time so that I can get to it once we go there.”

“I think we need to have a room ready at a hotel nearby to transport them to so that I can check everyone we can get out of there,” Kyle explained and Alex nodded in agreement.

“Yes, but I think we need to set that up here to put a little bit of distance between survivors and the facility,” Alex said. 

They all stopped talking when the waitress delivered their food. It was still quiet for a few minutes after she left while all three of them dug into their food. 

“I know that this is going to be hard to talk about it, but we have to,” Kyle started, looking at Michael like he was a wild animal who might attack. “I wonder if maybe you should stay behind.”

“No.” 

To his credit, Michael hadn’t gotten as angry as Alex had expected. The salt shaker, however, had started to shake on the table, so Alex reached out a hand and put it on top of Michael’s that laid on the table. Michael met Alex’s eyes, brows knit together. “Guerin,” he warned. 

Michael looked down and blinked several times, calming back down, and the salt shaker stilled. 

“If we learned anything from last time, it’s that they’ll have the place power-resistant. Any powers you use will likely put you and everyone else in danger. Kyle is right. We at least need to talk about you staying behind until we have the survivors out.”

Michael shook his head, tears forming in his eyes.

“Alex showed me everything you guys have found on this place so far. We know that it was built after Caulfield. That means the technology could be more advanced. We can’t chance someone figuring out that you aren’t human. It would put us all in danger. Not just you, Michael. The other aliens and Alex.”

Michael’s face dropped. Alex knew defeat when he saw it. Michael gave him a look that portrayed hurt and anger and even betrayal, but Alex just pressed his lips together and shook his head infinitesimally. Michael shook his head angrily and grabbed his hat, storming out to the parking lot. Kyle shifted in the booth, but then stood to sit where Michael had been so that Alex could slide out. Alex looked at him, questioningly. 

“Go. I’ll pay.” Kyle told him, reaching for his wallet and not watching as Alex walked out after Michael. 

Alex found Michael sitting on the curb in front of the car, hat on and hiding his face as he rested his elbows on his knees and looked down.

“This is bullshit. They are my people.” Michael said and Alex could hear the tears.

He stood, awkwardly, but wasn’t sure he could maneuver himself to sit down. His leg was already aching from the drive. Still, he was thankful Kyle took over driving after hour 5.

“I can’t let anything happen to you. We cut it too close last time.” Alex explained calmly.

Michael tilted his head so he could look up at Alex. “What about you?”

“Guerin-"

“No, Alex. You just don’t get it, do you? I don’t…I don’t see my mom dying when I look at you, Alex.” Michael stood up so that he was face-to-face with Alex. “I see my mom recognizing who you are to me. I hear her telling me she loves me. I see the realization on her face at the fact that you were willing to die with me. I hear her telling me to take you and run. And then I feel the guilt and disappointment she must have for me, now, knowing I’m not with you.” 

Alex’s tears matched Michael’s now. They were close enough that Alex could feel Michael’s breath. Alex’s jaw tightened and then he said through his tears. “Then be with me.”

Michael smiled a humorless smile and looked off to the side, shaking his head. He stepped away and walked in a small circle. “That easy, huh?” he asked without looking back at Alex. 

“Yes. It can be.”

Michael turned and looked at Alex again, the smile on his face had turned from angry to sad. “Only until you look away again, right, Alex? Gotta keep that Manes name strong.”

“That’s not fair.” Alex almost growled through his tears.

“Do you know the definition of insanity, Alex? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. How many times do we need to do this for me to figure out your MO?”

Alex wiped the tears from his face and straightened himself to stand taller. He lifted his chin in almost defiance. “Only one more time for me to prove to you that I’m not going anywhere this time. But that’s not going to happen. And it’s fine. Let’s just get through the next 48 hours, Michael. Then you can get back to Maria and forget this ever happened.”

Michael’s eyes softened and he went to reply, but Kyle walked up and Alex jumped into the passenger’s seat, focusing on his tablet again to find them a hotel for the night.

“You’re not the only one who has something to lose, here, Guerin. And you’re not the only one whose life was practically destroyed at Caulfield,” Kyle said, firmly. He got into the driver’s seat and started the car, waiting for Michael to climb into the backseat. 

After a moment of pacing, Michael climbed in and they headed in the direction of the hotel Alex had found for them. It was going to be a long 24 hours.


	8. Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Kyle go to the new location...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep in mind that Alex is an unreliable "narrator ." He is soooooo hard on himself. Anyways, enjoy!

They found a fairly nice motel nearby, so they booked a 2 Queen room and got settled in. Then they got back in the car and drove closer to the prison so that Alex could release the droid and get some footage. He stood outside the car with the controller in one hand and the Tablet, which was showing him the footage, propped up on the bumper.

Kyle sat in the driver’s seat, watching Alex out the rearview window while Michael shifted with nervous energy in the passenger seat, looking out in what Kyle assumed to be the direction of the prison. Michael slid his hands up and down his thighs, like he was wiping them off on his jeans.

“Calm down, man,” Kyle told him, an edge of irritation in his tone. 

Michael gave him a dirty look and then returned to shifting around.

“You know he’s doing all of this for you, right?” Kyle asked, almost rhetorically, looking back at Alex again.

Michael paused and looked back at Alex as well.

“Everything Alex does right now is for you somehow. Like he believes he owes it to you. He actually thinks he is to blame for all your shit,” Kyle continued when Michael hadn’t responded. 

Michael’s jaw tightened. “Shut up, Valenti.”

“No. I’m sorry that everyone wants to baby you, but I think someone needs to be in Alex’s corner, Guerin. The kid has no one sticking up for him. You realize that he deserves way better than you, right? But he still chooses you. And blames himself when he should be blaming you!”

“And why is that?” Michael practically growled. He didn’t want to have this conversation, especially not with Kyle, but call it self-sabotage, he needed to release some of his pent up energy somehow.

“He told me about all the times he came home. Every leave, he came home to you. Every time you had an honest conversation, it was him going to you, Guerin. Not the other way around.” Kyle had turned in his seat so that he was completely facing Michael. His face was screwed up in anger. 

“And after every time he showed up, he was also the one to end it and walk away,” Michael said, shivering with anger now.

“Fuck _off_, Guerin. He was in the military! Walking away was part of the deal for him to not be arrested!”

“Oh yeah? Were you there, too, then, Valenti? Funny, I didn’t see you when he came home on leave after his first deployment. I didn’t notice you around while I had to hold him through nightmare after fucking nightmare. I wasn’t aware that you heard him promise me he wouldn’t reenlist. Oh wait. You weren’t there, were you? You have no clue what you’re talking about.”

Kyle opened the door to get out of the car, fed up. “No,” he said, not meeting Michael in the eye, “I wasn’t there. And I’m sure he did have a fair share of fuck ups when it comes to the two of you. But honestly, Michael? Alex is a damn wonder. He has been through trauma and abuse after trauma and abuse. And yet he wants to love you and be with you. You aren’t the victim, Michael! Not the only one, at least.” 

Michael watched as Kyle closed the door behind himself and walked to the back with Alex. He opened the trunk hatch and sat down inside the back of the SUV, his legs hanging out. Michael just shook his head and went back to focusing on the prison, hoping if he concentrated enough, the sounds and screaming would start to make some sense.

* * *

A couple of hours later, they had settled back into the room. Alex sat at the table, his laptop in front of him so that he could re-watch the drone footage better. Kyle had made a run to a fast food restaurant to get them something to eat and a nearby grocery store to get waters and food for any survivors. Michael watched over Alex’s shoulder, anxiously. When they finished eating and had talked through a plan for the following morning, Kyle climbed into one of the beds.

“You need sleep, too, Manes,” he called. 

Alex rubbed his hands over his face and groaned. He nodded his agreement. Long day, long drive, and a crazy day ahead of them. He and sleep had a fickle relationship, but it was still important that he rest. But, he decided a bath would feel better before trying to sleep, so he sat down on the edge of the bed to remove his prosthetic and get down to his boxers. By the time he was done, Kyle was snoring from the other bed and Michael had wordlessly gone out to the car to grab his full set of crutches. Alex smiled his thanks and went into the bathroom, climbing into a warm bath that relaxed his back and leg enough that he thought he might be able to actually sleep a little. 

He spent more time in the bath than he usually did, going through the plan for the next day over and over in his head. Afterwards, he climbed out carefully and tied a towel around his waist, walking back into the room. 

“Your phone keeps going off,” Michael called from the table without looking up from the computer. 

Alex nodded absently and then glanced over at Michael, making his way to the bed so he could get dressed. “Find anything we missed?” he asked.

Michael shook his head. “No it’s-" he looked up at Alex and his words caught in his throat. Alex froze, setting one crutch down while he stood in front of the bed. He watched as Michael slowly looked Alex up and down, his tongue darting out to wet his lips absently. 

Alex tried hard not to smile, but a shadow of one still crept to his lips. He went back to dressing himself, but did so a little more aware of his audience. Michael cleared his throat and glanced back at the computer, but when his damn traitorous eyes kept finding their way back to Alex, he stood up and walked outside to get some air. Everything Valenti had said today was still nagging at him. Because he was right. Alex hadn’t ever been shown love, and yet he'd still known exactly how to give it. And one of the people he'd chosen to give it to was his own sorry ass. Alex _was_ a fucking wonder. 

Inside, Alex finished getting dressed and climbed into the empty bed, grabbing his phone to see the missed texts from Liz and Jeremy. He responded to let them both know all was fine. Then he closed his eyes and did his best to push away his heartbreak and find some sleep. 

* * *

  
Never mind that he'd napped in the car and that being around Alex so much had gotten rid of any hope Michael had of getting sleep, but he also couldn't stop the screaming at this point and it had wracked his energy level up to a point that made it physically hard to even sit still. He wasn't totally sure about it, but his best guess was that the energy increase had something to do with the other aliens nearby. They were frantic and his body just absorbed all their shit. 

He reviewed all the drone footage one last time before deciding to poke around Alex's computer at some of the other Project Shepherd information they had been working on over the last couple of weeks. 

It was around 1am when Alex started moving around in the bed. After some more aggressive shifting, Michael walked to the bed to see if he was okay. Alex was sweating, his jaw clenched tight and his body stiff. He started shaking his head and groaning, “No,” through gritted teeth. Without a thought, he climbed into the bed and sat with his back to the headboard, gently pulling Alex toward him but careful not to wake him up. When Alex was settled on his side on Michael’s lap, his arms involuntarily wrapped around Michael as if to keep him there. And then slowly his body started to relax and Michael squeezed Alex’s shoulder. 

Michael tilted his head against the headboard and took a deep breath. Only then did he realize the screaming had stopped and in its place was a sense of complete calm. 

I know you’re there, Michael thought, trying hard so that the other aliens could hear him. We are going to come get you.

Without knowing it, Michael drifted to sleep. 

* * *

  
Kyle woke up to his phone ringing and the sun filtering through the windows. He grabbed the phone from the side table and answered it without looking at who was calling.

“Yeah?” he asked into the phone. 

“Hey, how’d it go?” Rosa asked from the other end.

“We crashed at a hotel first. We're headed over to go into the prison today,” he explained, sitting upright and attempting to wake up more fully.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, Liz told me. I meant how did it go with the ‘sexual tension twins’?” 

Kyle huffed a laugh and turned his head to look at the other bed. He rolled his eyes. “I don't even know how to answer that right now.” He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, putting his feet off the side of the bed. 

“As your favorite sister, I expect a lot more details when you get home!”

“Yeah, yeah, okay. I'll call you later,” he told her, wanting to get her off the phone so he could pee. 

They said goodbye and Kyle started for the bathroom, not able to help himself from another glance at the other bed. Michael was on his back, asleep, with Alex practically wrapped around him. From the look of it, Alex was starting to wake up. 

When he got out of the bathroom, Alex had sat up, a look of embarrassment on his face as Michael woke up and yawned, stretching his arms. “Sorry,” Alex said quietly, his face still embarrassed. 

Michael looked back at Alex, his face calmer than Kyle had seen it in a long time, maybe ever. Michael shook his head. “Don't be. Nightmares. My choice.”

“Was I loud? I'm sorry if I kept you up,” Alex was saying, moving to the edge of the bed and reaching for his prosthetic. 

Michael shook his head again and reached a hand out, squeezing Alex on the arm. “No, you didn't.”

Alex paused what he was doing and met Michael's eyes. He held the gaze for a moment before seeming to believe Michael, and then his face turned lighter and he went back to putting on the prosthetic. 

Kyle found the small coffee maker in the corner of their room and started making some.

“We shouldn't wait much longer. Let's go over the plan one more time and then Kyle and I can head over there,” Alex said, making his way to the bathroom. 

When he had closed the door, Kyle wasted no time sending daggers at Michael with his eyes. “What are you doing, Guerin?”

Michael stood and stretched. “Last I checked you aren't his keeper, Valenti.”

Kyle shook his head and sat on the edge of his bed to put his shoes on. “I am leaving a jug of pure acetone here, but I’m taking the other with us in case we need it for the drive back.”

Michael nodded and then realized that the screaming in his head had dialed down significantly. “Wait, something's wrong.”

Kyle startled at Michael's sudden standing up and starting to pace. 

“Something is wrong- different than yesterday.”

“Different how?” Alex asked as he walked back into the room. 

“The drone showed 5 aliens. There's not as much noise in my head anymore,” Michael explained and the look he gave Alex was one of desperation. Alex could feel Michael's fear to his bones. 

“Did they spot the drone?” Kyle asked, looking at Alex. _Did they kill the aliens?_

Alex swallowed and walked forward to Michael. He pressed their foreheads together and held a hand at the back of Michael's neck. “I need you to stay calm, Guerin. We are going to figure this out. Stay here and stay safe.”

Michael closed his eyes tightly for a moment, his jaw working. Then he opened them and looked into Alex's, nodding. “Be careful.”

And then Kyle and Alex were gone and Michael was left with the military grade cell phone Alex had showed him last night and an empty pit in his stomach. 

* * *

  
The drive was relatively quiet, both men lost in thought about what situation they were entering into. 

“Do you think they killed them?” Kyle asked. 

Alex was quiet for a moment. “I can't think about that right now.”

Kyle nodded and they went back to silence for a while. As they approached, Alex took a deep breath. The military-grade vehicles that had been parked at the East entrance the day before were gone, now. Alex continued with their plan of entering from the North entrance. Still no sign of anyone around. “You find the cells. It looked like they were all in one wing of the building. I’ll find the control room. I couldn't quite find it with the drone but I think I have an idea of where it is.”

Kyle nodded and they got out if the car to stand in front of the building. 

“Get your phone out and set the alarm for 15 minutes,” Alex directed and took his own phone out to do the same. This was something they had talked about a lot. They didn't want to stay in the building for longer than that in case there were explosives or other measures set up on the building.

Slowly, they entered the old building. They shared a quick look before separating, Kyle running in the direction of the cells and Alex headed quickly in the direction of where he hoped to find the control room.

It didn’t take long for Alex to find his way. His heart was racing, but the adrenaline had set in and he was able to focus. The control room was trashed and there was a pile of paperwork in the corner of the room that had clearly been lit on fire in a haste and had burned out. Alex went to the computer in the room and started working on hacking in. Again, it felt almost too easy to access. What wasn’t so easy was hacking into the cell locks. Not impossible, just a small challenge. While his coding was working, he glanced down at his cell phone. It has been just over 9 minutes. He used the walkie talkie that he and Kyle had brought to ask how things were going. It was quiet for nearly 30 seconds and Alex’s palms had started to sweat, but finally he heard “All clear. Alex. We were right. It doesn’t look like anyone is alive.”

His heart dropped. Instinct kicked in and he used the military cell phone to call the one he’d left with Michael.

“Are you okay?” he heard on the other end.

“Yes, I don’t have much time. I need you to tell me if you hear anyone right now. Any aliens.”

The computer made a sound and Alex worked to unlock all of the cell doors. When it said they were unlocked, he immediately switched into downloading information and looking for hard drives.

“Guerin?” he asked into the phone.

“Only one but it’s weak, now.”

“Good enough for me,” Alex answered and hung up, lifting the walkie talkie again. “Someone is alive. I got the doors unlocked I need you to check for at least one survivor. He still hears one alien.”

“On it,” Kyle returned.

12 minutes. Okay, focus again. Movement caught his eye and he looked up. It was video of the cells, and Kyle was going room to room, kneeling before lifeless bodies and checking for a pulse. He seemed to find something, because he was in the process of lifting someone up and propping them for a moment before he went ahead to find any others. Alex made a decision he knew he might regret in the future and disconnected his tech from the computer, packing it all up and going to help Kyle. 

They had about 60 seconds left and Alex had grabbed the one surviving alien while Kyle checked the last 2 cells. He slipped his arm under the alien’s shoulder and supported his weight, leading him outside. He nodded in Kyle’s direction and Kyle nodded back his understanding. One cell left.

Alex made it outside and helped the man into the backseat. Alex took a moment to look the man over. He looked old, maybe 70 or 75. He was bald and his eyes were sunken in. His eyes bore into Alex and Alex allowed the man to look into his eyes, trying to convey that he was safe and they wouldn’t hurt him. A sudden yell of his name had Alex turning his attention toward the entrance where Kyle was supporting a second person and mostly carrying her out. Alex ran toward them and got on the woman’s other side to help Kyle carry her. They took her to the trunk and had her sit on the edge. Kyle climbed into the back of the car and hoisted the woman in all the way, laying her down and starting to check her vitals.

“Grab the acetone from the front seat,” Kyle directed.

Alex did so and then he closed the hatch and climbed into the driver’s seat. “I want to get us as much distance as possible, I don’t trust how easy it was to-"

And then the building exploded. Alex looked in the rearview mirror and then took his phone from his pocket to see the timer. It had been 19 minutes since they entered the building. 15 minutes from when he first hacked the system. Just over 7 minutes since the cell doors unlocked. What the actual fuck. 

He called back to Kyle to check in on the survivors. From a glance in the rearview, he could see that Kyle was pouring acetone into the woman’s mouth. 

“Alex, I don’t know how much time she has. They don’t understand me. I don’t think they understand English. We need Michael.”

Alex swallowed the lump in his throat and grabbed his military cell phone, calling the one he’d left with Michael. 

“Alex,” Michael said, tense and clearly scared. 

“Guerin we got 2 out. One is hurt but the other is in a really bad way. We will be there in 10,” Alex explained, willing his voice to stay strong like he could when he was deployed. Only this wasn’t the war. This was Michael and his people. And once again Alex would be wrapped up with the knowledge that more aliens had been murdered. 

“Alex, are you okay?” Michael asked, firmly, and Alex wondered if he had heard what Alex had said.

“Yeah, I’m- Guerin, did you hear me?” 

“Yes. I’ll be ready,” Michael said, some amount of relief and determination in his voice. 

But Alex knew Michael wouldn’t feel relieved that he was okay for long. He’d probably be wishing Alex had died instead of more aliens. The feeling was mutual, honestly. Alex set the phone down on the passenger seat next to his backpack. 

“Kyle?” Alex called in question.

“Still alive. Faint pulse. I checked on the man and he seems to be okay.”

Alex nodded. 2 lives. That was better than none, right? Didn’t even start to make up for all those who had died. But it was something. 

A few minutes later had Alex pulling into the motel parking lot and parking in front of their room. Michael ran outside of the room next door to theirs, so Alex realized he’d booked them a second room. Good thinking, actually. Especially if they’d been able to save more than just the 2.

Michael flew to the trunk and opened it, holding a hand out for Kyle to climb out and then helping him carry the woman. Alex had gotten to the man and helped him out and was supporting his weight as he led them to their room. He looked back at Michael questioningly and Michael nodded at the new room.

“I got it set up with some of the medical gear Kyle brought,” Michael said by way of explanation.

Alex nodded and reached for the propped open door, leading the man inside. He carefully sat him on the edge of one of the beds and knelt down in front of him. The man looked nervously at Alex and then glanced over at the woman. 

“Are you hurt?” Alex asked him. Alex started searching the man’s body, starting with his arms. The man didn’t flinch away. 

Suddenly, the man gasped quietly and Alex looked up to see him staring directly at Michael. He whispered something that Alex didn’t understand, but Michael’s head shot up from where he was helping Kyle lay the woman on the neighboring bed. Michael’s eyes were wide and he shook his head.

“No,” he said to the man.

The man nodded and then lowered his head, respectfully. He whispered again. Michael looked at Alex and his face looked overwhelmed.

“What's he saying?” Alex asked, starting to stand up.

Michael took a deep breath. “He’s calling me Prince. He is referring to me as royalty.”

Michael finished helping Kyle for the moment and walked so that he could stand in front of the man. The held his hand up, the way his mother had. The man held his palm to Michael's in return. And Michael's eyes closed for a long minute. When he opened them, he was crying. He turned to face Alex, who was hit with major déjà vu.

“His name is Mauldin. And he knows how to heal Max.”


End file.
